WTF? Times Vol. 7, Iss. 1: WTF, Indeed

[salas]

Greetings and salutations once again, O infernal minions...I mean, dear readers. We approach once again that joyous, exciting time of year, when pitchers and catchers report to spring training and the hopes and dreams for the upcoming season have not yet been dashed by the misguided actions of inept management.

Wait, sorry, I forgot...that doesn't apply to Louisville this year, thanks to the trading of one Michael Strathallan.

Oh, sure, the Flubbers actually got enough offense out of the deal that everyone might actually start going back to using the actual team nickname of "Sluggers", as the strength of the batting order took leaps and bounds forward with the acquisition of C Rafael Avila, LF Cory Warr, and CF Pat Park. Avila in particular replaces the catcher-by-committee corps that was set to take over for the released John Baldwin next year, and none of them really held a candle to what Avila can bring to the table offensively, even if his ratings have diminished a bit lately (and that's really not saying much for the state of the club's catching corps the last few seasons). Warr will replace a vet in Jeff Jackson, and even though Warr hits lefties better, his splits against righties are even better than Jackson's when you factor in his patience at the plate and contact ability. Ditto with Park and Joe Ellis, his CF predecessor in Louisville.

Plus, we can't forget that Russell Vanness and his 3.58 career ERA are coming over to fill that gap in the rotation.

That wide, gaping chasm in the 3rd slot in the rotation.

Hell, with the way Allen Izatt pitched last season, maybe the 2nd!!!!

Ok, ok, let's try looking at this rationally; no matter how amazing Strathallan will be, there are a few issues to consider: 1) his control is still a little iffy, so it's unlikely that he will pitch much better than Vanness this coming season, all else equal, and, most importantly, 2) he's just one man, and if there were just one area where the club could have given a little to get a lot, it would have been starting pitching. A stunning thing to say, yes, considering the likes of Ramon Baca were still starting nearly 30 games last season, but a 4-5 combo of Paul Alfred, Scott Turner, and Chris Allen, choose two, is not horrendous.

The offense, however, was.

A .242 team average. A .289 OBP. 574 runs scored. 1225 strikeouts. Need we go on?? The rational side of this argument is clear: with two top-shelf starters in Javy Cordero and Izatt, there was enough of a return in Vanness to warrant dealing Strathallan for three offensive upgrades, given how abysmal the team's hitters performed last season. Plus, it's not like this club has been much of an offensive force for years; after several seasons of a focus on pitching, it was time to kick-start those bats.

On the flip side, though, one could make the opposite argument: Strathallan was THE man, a prospect above all prospects. You never, ever, ever, ever trade a guy this young and this talented. Marquette could have him for the next 15 years, easy. If he wins just 13-14 games a season on average during that time, the kid becomes a 200-game winner, and everyone knows that he could easily do it. He could have easily done it in Louisville, with zero run support - one need only look at Cordero's track record in Louisville to see that.

But, hey, what do we know? We're not management, after all.

[jiminyhopkins]

I still think this is a good deal. Probably the best way to add value across your ML roster in 4 different places.